Kakadu & Katherine Self-Drive

Today you can see Howard Springs (shaded swimming area, many native birds and animals, crocodile free- check with ranger!), Humpty Doo (Window on the Wetlands Visitor Centre), Adelaide River Jumping Crocodile Cruises, Corroboree Park outback Tavern, Annaburroo, Mary River National Park (small reserve areas protecting Mary River), Bark Hut Inn (iconic outback pub), Kakadu National Park, Gungaree Monsoon Rainforest Walk, Mamukala Wetlands Walk, Bowali Visitor Centre (guided tours available), Ubirr Art Site, Nourlangie Rock, Gorges and waterfalls, Two Mile Hole or Jabiru (small township in Kakadu National Park, starting point for exploration of park). Direct driving 210km (2.40 hours) .

Kakadu National Park (Northern Territory, 171km east of Darwin), Mary River region (river, floodplains, monsoon rainforest, millions of migratory birds and endemic birds, saltwater crocodiles, barramundi fishing), Cooinda (small settlement and Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre building symbolizes the warradjan/pig-nosed turtle and tells traditional owners story of Kakadu), Yellow Water (East Alligator River billabong, huge waterlilies, flora and fauna, crocodiles, wild horses, buffalo, millions of migratory birds and jacana (aka Jesus Birds), egrets, jabiru, sea eagles, magpie geese), Jabiru (township in Kakadu National Park, restaurants, cafes, shops accommodation designed to resemble a crocodile from the air, scenic flights, Ranger Uranium Mine, Aboriginal cultural tours and cruises, September Jabiru Mahbilil Festival food and craft appreciation, art workshops, live music, dance performances, fireworks display is mirrored on Lake Jabiru), Jabiru Gubara (6km return mod walk - tall sandstone cliffs, monsoon pools, a million butterflies and shady forest pools for a dip), Bowali Visitor Centre (info and advice, gallery and shop), Nourlangie Rock, Nourlangie Rock Art Site (historic shelter, ancient rock art such as Namarrgon, the Lightining Man, of the Dreamtime and controller of violent storms of the Wet Season passing on beliefs and stories of country to generations over the millennia), Ubirr Rock (interpretive signs or guided tour, splendid examples of X-ray art, hand prints, animals, hunters, rock art and figures from the Dreamtime, shelters, grindstones, stone tools, ochre for ceremonial paint), Barrk Sandstone Walk (6-8 hours walk for only the fittest; beautiful sandstone country), Bardedjilidji Walk (moderate 2 hr walk,map and info at Bowali VC, alongside East Alligator River layered sandstone, wetlands and woodlands), Jim Jim Falls - (Go here with the professional - take a guided 4WD tour - hire cars not allowed on track. Majestic waterfall cascading down ochre cliffs to sandy white beaches and clear cool water), Mirrai Lookout Walk (30kms south of the Bowali Visitor Centre. 3.6km return walk, steep climb, amazing vista of Kakadu escarpment from the Mount Cahill Lookout). The Six Season of Kakadu: Gunumeleng (October-December is building up to monsoon season), Gudjewg (January-February is The Wet and the perfect time for a canoe or airboat over the wetlands or a boat tour of the a river), Banggereng (March is the time of wild winds and thunders "hit'em down storms"), Yegge (April-May is magical morning mists rising over the plains, bringing cooler weather when the owners traditionally burned off as insurance against natural destructive fires of Wurreng), Wurreng (June-July is The Dry when visitors come to Kakadu to enjoy the dramatic diversity of Kakadu in the cool), Gurrung (August-September is calm and getting hotter with thunderheads building in the afternoons, to welcome Gunumeleng).

Today you can see Jabiru township, Gagudju Crocodile Hotel (350m crocodile shaped building, accommodation in the belly of crocodile), Ilagadjarr Wetlands Walk, Nourlangie Rock (major Aboriginal rock art areas), Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre, Mardugal Billabong Walk, Cooinda, Yellow Water Billabong, Paradise Farm, Gungural Recreation Area, Bubkukluk Outlook, Mary River Roadhouse, Pine Creek (massive white domes), Edith River, Edith Falls (a wilderness setting of falls and pools) Katherine, Nitmiluk National Park or Katherine Gorge (carved through ancient sandstone by Katherine River). Direct driving 210km (2.40 hours) .

Katherine (restaurants, cafes, bistros, bronze statue of Sabu Sing astride his stockhorse, markets, horseracing, proper Aussie country pubs, five art galleries), Top Didj and Art Gallery (Cultural experience), Katherine Public Art Gallery (30 years of Katherine Art Prize competition), The Katherine Region Walking with Spirits Festival (July), Barunga Festival (June), prestigious Katherine Show (July), Katherine Festival (August), Katherine Country Music Muster (May), The Katherine Museum (artefacts and photo's from early Chinese settlers in the Territory and the devastating 1998 Katherine Floods, the Overland Telegraph Line, a Gypsy Moth Aircraft, history on WW II, aboriginal artifacts, artifacts and memorabilia of Clyde Fenton the first flying doctor), Katherine School Of The Air (gain insight into a unique part of life and the schooling tradition for isolated children of the outback), Katherine Art Gallery see cultural diversity and influences of the Jawoyn, Warlpiri and Dagoman Aboriginal people), Springvale Homestead ((1879) oldest original homestead in the Territory, it was built by Alfred Giles, linesman), Katherine River (rich eco-system of native animals and birds supported by river), Royal Australian Air Force Base Tindal (F/A-18 Hornets 17 km south of Katherine. Not open to the public), Nitmiluk National Park Katherine Gorge (30 min nor'east, world famous system of 13 gorges and river wilderness, bush walks, sandstone plateau range, spectacular gorge views, heli-fly over, guided tours, bush walk, swimming, canoe hire at the Gorge, Smith Rock, Low Level Crossing (popular swimming spots, pleasant for cooling off, but watch out for snags and the current), Cutta Cutta Caves National Park (27km south Katherine, caves Tropical Woodland Walk), Cutta Cutta Caves (500 million years limestone caverns, featuring sparkling columns, pillars and flowstones of calcite crystal), Mataranka (s.east Katherine, small township on upper reaches of Roper River,Stockyard Gallery of local Aboriginal art, barramundi feeding tours, Never Never Museum Of Aboriginal history), Mataranka Hot Springs thermal pool (sandy-bottomed, palm fringed lagoon,swimming spot, or swim where the springs flow into the river with a 30cm hot top layer of spring water and cold bottom), Barranyi (North Island) National Park, Caranbirini Conservation Reserve, Elsey National Park, Flora River Nature Park, Gregory National Park, Keep River National Park, Limmen National Park, Fishing (many of the region's big rivers are great for serious Barraumundi fishing adventure).

Today there is time to enjoy the Nitmiluk Gorge, perhaps taking a boat trip through the gorge, or perhaps visit the Adelaide River War Cemetery or take a trail into the Litchfield National Park. Direct driving 316km (3.50 hours) .